Christmas & Coffee To-Go

BUY A TO-GO CUP FOR YOU AND OTHERS

Help the environment this Christmas!

I am a frequent visitor to Starbucks and I notice that at Christmas time it is very busy there - like everywhere. People stop and get a coffee (tea, etc) to-go before shopping or stop there after to check their Xmas list, and scratch off some items and take a breather after the busy shops and malls.

It is a festive place to go and when it is cold outside - so nice to have that warmth as you hold onto to your warm, frothy drink.

Because I go there so often, it began to bother me how many to-go cups I was going through in a week, a month, a year!! When I really thought about it, I was disappointed in myself. What is this doing to our landfills and environment! There is something we can do to help and that is:

BUY YOUR OWN TO-GO CUP

That can make a HUGE difference - 1 person can indeed make a difference to our environment. Buying do this yourself you will also encourage others to do it. Once you have one, your friends will see it and you can tell them how good you feel about helping the environment in this way. Make them feel guilty! But in a good way.

OR BETTER YET!!

Buy everyone a TO-GO CUP for Christmas!

Now you are making a difference and so is everyone you give it to.

There are so many cool ones out there now, literally one for everyone. You can also buy to-go cups everywhere.
An added bonus is - THEY KEEP YOUR COFFEE/TEA/WHATEVER WARMER FOR LONGER

I keep mine in my car always. Sure at the beginning I would forget it sometimes. When I did, I would scold myself and next time I would usually remember. Also, I feel SO BAD now when I don't use it. It is like remembering my keys now. It has become a habit. Seriously this DOES make a big difference.

Next time you are in your favourite coffee shop, take a look around and see how many people are getting their coffees/teas to go. Just picture ALL those cups gathering every day in a landfill. Imagine the planet being swallowed up by all these paper cups and plastic lids. Don't turn your back, this is something so easy that you ca do. Something so easy that will make a big difference.

There are many ways we can become more conscious about how we affect the environment. You don't have to start all at once. Just implement one thing a day, a week or even a month.

1 PERSON CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE

Also, you will influence those around you.

HELP OTHERS AT CHRISTMAS
There are so many "ECO" gifts to give for Christmas. Plant a tree in someone's name. There are also so many ways to help others in this world at Christmas. We all have so much stuff already, why not give to someone less fortunate. Buy a goat, pay for a child's education, sponsor a child, etc, etc. The options are numerous.

Again - 1 PERSON CAN CHANGE THE WORLD!!

So go out and BUY your OWN to-go cup. Buy one you just love. One that will make you feel good each time you use it.

Take time to enjoy the holiday season and give thanks!

CHOCOLATE & PERIMENOPAUSE

How many women do NOT like chocolate?

Probably not many.

I have always loved it and over the years, I have improved the quality of wine I drink and the quality of chocolate I eat. I really like fine chocolate!

My favourite is raw cacao. It is pure, raw chocolate from the cacao bean. It is not processed. It does not have sugar added or any additives or preservatives. You can buy the actualy cacao beans (chocolate beans) at the heatlh food store or you can buy the raw cacao powder (like cocoa powder). I tend to buy the powder because I use it in cooking and in drinks. Fantastic chocolate/nut milk!

Tis the season for Christmas parties and I have attended a couple functions. What I brought was some of my home-made chocolates.

Here is a super simple recipe to make some dairy free, wheat free & sugar free chocolate treats!

1/2 Cup Raw (not roasted or salted) Almonds
1/2 Cup Raw (not roasted or salted) Cashews
(You can use any of your favourite nuts)
1/4 Cup Unsweetened Natural Coconut
2 heaping Tbsp of Raw Cacao Powder
1 tsp Vanilla (Pure)
1/2 tsp Cinnamon
4-5 Madjool Dates (depends on how sweet you like it)
Some coconut to add after if you want

• Put nuts in food processor. Grind up as fine as you would like them. Depending on how smooth you want this to be or if you want it crunchier.
• Add coconut, dates and vanilla
• Mix until mixture starts to stick together
• Add raw cacao powder and cinnamon
• Mix again until well mixed and sticky
• Test by seeing if you can squeeze this mixture together and it will stick

If mixture is warm and too sticky then place in freezer for about 10-20 minutes until it gets harder.

Next, all you have to do is either press mixture into pan to make brownies or roll into balls and roll in coconut after. You can also make them into a little round flatter cookies.

You can chose to top or roll in coconut, ground nuts or raw cacao powder.

Pop them in the freezer. They are ready to eat any time. You can store them in freezer or in the fridge.

These are so good and so perfect to take as gifts.

If you really want to do this right then soak the nuts in filtered water overnight or all day. Then dry the nuts a bit and then use them. When you soak the nuts like that you make them easier to digest and they are healthier for you.

Test the mixture as you are making it and adjust ingredients to your taste. I like chocolate but I don't like really sweet chocolate so I do not add a lot of dates. If you want to add fewer dates, soak the dates first in water and then will become softer and you can also use some of the soak water when you are mixing. Therefore you will still get the sticky mixture texture using less dates!

Have fun, experiment and most of all ENJOY this healthy chocolate.

Share these treats. People love when you bring them something that you made yourself.

Raw Cacao contains more antioxidants than blueberries and green tea. Eat Natural!!

Enjoy the season!

PERIMENOPAUSE - CHANGE & THE FUTURE....WHAT DO YOU WANT?

I have just finished a fantastic certification course to become a RAW CHEF!

Many of you may already know about eating "RAW" and some may not. There is a ton of great information online. I will probably write about this later.

During the weekend we had to write out our goals and even try to draw them! They gave us some colored pencils and away I went. It was actually quite fun. Believe me, there were a lot of stick people in the pictures.

The ironic thing is that I had been doing this last week before attending this weekend seminar. I didn't realize we would be getting into this during the weekend.

About a week ago I received an e-mail about a great tool for manifesting what you really want in life. It is called a Mind Movie.

Check out http://www.mindmovies.com/

They will send you some free "mind movies" to view and even use and see how you like them. I did end up purchasing a package so that I can do my own. I am very visual and pictures would be a great way for me to manifest. The mind movies can be run on your computer and so you can view it as often as you like.

So this past week and this weekend I spent a lot of time dreaming/imagining/visualizing what I really want in my life - what I want my life to look like in the future. I have written a ton of it down because that is what was required.

When I purchased the Mind Movie package they sent me a questionnaire to fill out. I am almost finished it and this is the perfect time for me to be doing this.

My life is changing quite fast right now and I am beginning to become clear on what I want. We all need to do this more often. It is important to keep dreaming, keep growing and keep imagining what we really want in life. We tend to go through our days almost blindly working, cooking, sleeping, shopping, etc. We procrastinate and put things off until "tomorrow". Then tomorrow never comes.

Check out the Mind Movies site. Maybe it is just what you need.

You may even get some great ideas on how you can do it on your own.

The important thing is to start and start thinking, start imagining, start dreaming. Find your passion again!!

I will write more on this and include some of the questions I am and have been answering to get you thinking. Sometimes we need a reminder to get us moving forward, towards a goal, a vision, a mission.

I know it is my time - is it yours?

EMOTIONAL EATING....PART 2

In my last post I was discussing emotional eating. During Perimenopause our emotions take some pretty big swings. Some months it feels like I am having PMS for 3 weeks!

When these emotional ups and downs come along, often I noticed that yes, I was grabbing food that made me feel better. My weakness is chocolate and peanut butter!!

I will continue talking about the book "Shrink Yourself, Break Free From Emotional Eating Forever."

I told you that I found the great web site www.healthbooksummaries.com that allows you to read some of the books. I was reading part of this book and thought I would share some of it with you.

Part 2....Emotional Eating

When we use food to make us feel better instead of dealing with our problems, it creates a viscious cycle. We may be able to avoid our problems for a while, but the longer we wait to deal with them, the worse they become. We may then eat more.


As I said in the last post that emotional eating has to do with the feeling of powerlessness.

• Powerless about how to deal with your self-doubts
• Powerless about how to get real satisfaction in life
• Powerless about being safe and secure in your relationship, financial state, job, home, etc.
• Powerless about feeling empty inside or unfulfilled
• Powerless about being able to do what you really want to in life

Etc, etc.

The goal of the book is to help you become aware of the pattern you are running so that you can find the space between when you have one of the above experiences of powerlessness and when you begin to overeat. Only by observing your mind and finding that space will you begin to change your emotional eating pattern.

Diets do NOT work because you are emotional eating. The way you REACT to a situation, event, or person sets it off. Not the situation, event or person itself.

Your end up replacing the bad feelings with the pleasurable experience of eating.

The author also goes on to explain why some people may sabotage their diet when they are nearing their goal. He states that the reason could be because if you didn’t have your weight to think about, you might have to deal with what’s really bothering you. It is frightening because you feel powerless to change the things that really bother you.

When you are afraid to stay and explore your feelings, you have already come to the conclusion that you are defeated in some way.

The author states that you need to understand how covering up emotions with food sets you back physically, spiritually, and emotionally.

Your feelings aren’t there to make you unhappy. Rather emotions provide you with information about your inner world. They are full of messages you need to hear.

If you are an emotional eater, every time you feel that you are not worthy, you become hungry. Feeling inadequate makes you desire food as much as biological hunger.

It is your own lack of self-esteem that triggers the eating.

Something to think about ..... isn't it.

I know I can relate to this and I am going to practice being more conscious. When I go to grab for chocolate or a spoonful of peanut butter I am going to ask myself "What is up?" When I do, I know that there will be a feeling of being powerless in some aspect of my life. I have already done this in the last few days and sure enough - that is exactly what the issue was. Now I have to work on not being powerless. Work on finding solutions to the areas that I feel I am powerless.

I can change my future, I can affect my present. I am the only one who can - THAT IS POWERFUL! THAT IS WHERE MY POWER LIES

I hope this also works for you. It is the first step.

Check out the site http://www.healthbooksummaries.com/ and take some time to read some of the books that are up to. There are many and you will be very surprised.

Let me know which book spoke to you.

EMOTIONAL EATING .... AGAIN

I found a great book about emotional eating you can read a bit of it online for free. Funny because I was just emotionally triggered by an e-mail and what did I do? I ate chocolate. Chocolate and peanut butter are my weakness for sure.


I had actually chosen this topic before this happened too. Now I know it was meant to be!

There is a great site called www.healthbooksummaries.com

It is so fantastic!!! I love to read but lately I have been so busy with many, many things that I haven’t been able to just sit, relax and read a great book. This site (above) is a place where a couple of health experts have summarized some of the health books they feel are very good. These are actually new books too. They keep adding books to the site, which is so great. I would highly recommend subscribing – which is FREE! The whole book is not there but the summaries are great and they give you some SUPER information.

I was reading one of the books called:

“Shrink Yourself, Break Free From Emotional Eating Forever!” by Roger Gould, M.D.

Funny, I was thinking that I don’t have this problem - ya right!! I proved myself wrong today. I don’t overeat but I definitely grab something that is not that healthy for me when I am stressed or over emotional.

He feels that the feeling of being “powerless” is the reason why people eat emotionally and/or compulsively. He says we should not ask ourselves “Why do you eat?” but “Why are you powerless?”

You know, that is the EXACT issue I was dealing with when I grabbed that chocolate – bad store bought chocolate. I was feeling powerless!

He states that emotional eaters or compulsive eaters (not saying they are the same, I mean 2 types of eaters), are like an addict or an alcoholic. The addict and alcoholic feel that they are powerless when it comes to alcohol and drugs but he says it is really that they feel powerless in some aspect of their life. That makes so much sense! I know some alcoholics (I’m sure we all do) and that fits.

Emotional eaters use food to comfort them when they are feeling uneasy, stressed, emotional, depressed, etc. They chose food instead of really dealing with their problem. That only reinforces their feeling of powerlessness.

He states that the only way to recover that power is to stop and think about what other options you have besides eating. The book is about finding the space between when something has challenged you and your sudden urge to eat (which is not real hunger). Before you grab for that food – what are you thinking? You have been operating on instinct and habit. You have developed this pattern and it just happens without you thinking about it now. You don’t even take the time to stop yourself. Or you don’t know what to think or do during that time if you were to stop yourself.

Food has become your coping mechanism. This is big because you don’t eat like this because you feel you need more nutrition – more food. You eat like that because it helps you cope. If you have been a smoker you know what I mean (I have been).

Diets don’t work and hunger suppressants certainly don’t work. Really, to me those are a joke. How many people really eat ONLY when they are hungry? – not many. I don’t even feel hungry sometimes when I eat – being hungry is NOT the issue.

Counting calories does NOT work. A donut has calories, a cookie has calories. If you are supposed to have 1500 calories in a day then you can do that – it just might not be good nutritional calories. I have NEVER recommended counting calories.

This is a loaded subject and I would like to talk more about it next post.

What I want you to get out of this is:

When you feel that need to eat for emotional reasons, think of how you are feeling powerless at that moment. Stop and think –
“What is making me feel powerless right now?”

Take a look at the web site www.healthbooksummaries.com and check out the book. There are many other fantastic books also. Learn, read, educate yourself. That is the key to handling our health and wellness. It is truly up to each of us.